


take my hand

by lesmiserablol



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chronic Pain, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29024418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: 5 times Mako’s chronic pain helped him and Wu become better friends, +1 time it helped them become something more.
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 203





	take my hand

**Author's Note:**

> mako: *exists*  
> me: okay  
> someone: wait what if mako had chronic arm pain after dealing w the spirit vines  
> me: OH YES. HELL. YES. YEAH!!!! I LOVE MAKO!!!!!! 
> 
> anyway, take my humble offering of (*cough* a ton of self projection *cough*) a modern au mako w chronic arm pain. written for an anon who sent me a request (months ago) for more chronic pain fics with other characters, and also another anon who asked if I would ever write Wuko.

**1**

Mako is not surprised when his arm starts hurting only three days after moving into his new apartment. 

Well, “ _ starts  _ hurting” isn’t exactly the right phrase. He’s gotten familiar with the dull ache that increases at random when he’s trying to type a paper or burns when the weather changes drastically. And even though his friends and younger brother insisted on doing all the heavy lifting during the move (leaving him to feel awkward and helpless until he found some lighter things to carry inside), he still didn’t leave it unscathed. The stress of moving and starting the semester left his muscles tight after spending a few hours putting everything away. Bolin had told him to wait until he came by the next day to help him set up his room, but then Mako had met his new roommate and wanted an excuse to not talk and turned to unpacking. 

Which was only semi effective. His roommate had introduced himself as Wu, and spent a good thirty minutes in his desk chair, occasionally spinning in circles and talking as Mako unpacked, quiet as Wu rambled on. 

And then Wu, who hadn’t been helping him as much as he had been snooping through his stuff, had spotted the mini bisexual pride flag in a box on his desk and pulled it out. 

Mako watched him warily as he did, but Wu was already smiling. “I have one just like this!” He had then run out of his room and returned with his matching flag and a shirt that had a Best Buy logo replaced with the word “Best Bi” in the bisexual pride colors. Something in Mako’s chest relaxed and he offered a genuine, if small, smile. 

That’s when Wu had gotten distracted because putting away his shirt meant that he saw the state of his room with his belongings still packed, and Mako had been relieved. Yet when he closed his door, he hesitated and then decided to leave it open just a crack. Which meant he heard when Wu called out, “Do you want to order pizza for dinner?” an hour later. 

Since then, he’s been holding his breath, waiting for the flare up. He’s heating up the last of the pizza, relieved to be finished with the first day of classes, when he pulls out the plate from the microwave. There’s a sudden shooting pain in his arm and he lets out a hiss of pain before he can stop it, barely stopping himself from dropping and breaking the plate. 

Wu had been humming to himself as he stirred something on the stove, but immediately he turns to his roommate. “Are you okay? Did you burn yourself?”

“I— no, I’m okay,” Mako says, turning his head away to close his eyes for a few seconds as he focuses on breathing. The shooting pain leaves an intense ache, and after a few more moments there’s another wave of sharp pain and he grimaces. He can feel Wu’s eyes on him but he ignores it, grabbing his plate and wordlessly going to his room. He puts the plate down on his desk and cradles his right arm with his left, resigning himself to a long night ahead. 

Wu is on the couch when he emerges the next morning, taking his dirty plate to the dishwasher. He’s reading something on his phone, so Mako thinks he’s distracted, and he subtly walks quicker—

“What happened to your hand?”

No luck. Mako shrugs, glancing at the wrist brace there as if he’s never seen it before and trying to decide on which explanation to give the roommate he has known for only a few days before settling on, “Oh, it’s an old injury.”

He waits, waits for the questions he usually gets from people curious about what happened, or why it still hurts, or what doctors have told him, and the inevitable look on their faces that makes Mako uncomfortable when he explains that yes, it hurts every day and yes, it will continue to do so as far as he and the various doctors he has visited can tell. 

But Wu just frowns slightly and says, “That sucks.” 

Mako expects him to change the subject to something more lighthearted or to break the silence that follows with a joke, but Wu is only looking up at him, his eyes sincere, and it throws Mako off.

He huffs out a laugh. “You could say that again.”

He turns back to the kitchen, feeling more relaxed. They’re going to live together for at least the next two semesters, and Mako will tell him eventually, but...he doesn’t want to just yet. Wu is still a stranger to him, he doesn’t need to know that the pain was too intense to let him sleep much last night, or that he had to eat and brush his teeth with his left hand and that even with all this time he’s had to practice he’s still clumsy. 

Nah. Wu will find out eventually. But for now, a comfortable silence hangs over them. 

* * *

Bolin doesn’t get the chance to meet Wu until three weeks after Mako moved in. Bolin greets him enthusiastically and his eyes go wide as he notices the Best Bi shirt, turning to Mako, who quickly creates the excuse of returning something of Bolin’s that he found in his room. 

He closes the door behind them and crosses his arms as he turns to face his brother. “Not a word.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You didn’t need to, it was written all over your face,” Mako sighs.

“I just think it’s poetic that your roommate is bisexual, and you are bisexual, and he seems very friendly, and I’m willing to bet you think he’s cute, too.” Bolin’s tone is smug, and Mako turns to grab a sweatshirt out of his closet to hide the way that his face heats up at that. 

Why is he blushing? Sure, objectively Wu is handsome, but that doesn’t mean that Mako finds him attractive or should be blushing over him. Wu can also be annoying and loud and...so  _ much _ . It’s kind of endearing, though. Whatever.

* * *

**2**

“Hey, is it okay if my friends come over to watch a movie tonight?”

Wu looks up from where he’s studying at the table, and until now Mako did not know that he wears glasses sometimes, not that this information means anything, it’s just good to know, in case it ever comes up in scenarios other than Mako imagining bumping into the glasses with his face if they were to ever get that close— 

“Sure, what movie?” he asks curiously. 

Mako clears his throat. “It’s my brother’s turn to choose, so probably either a Star Wars movie or some rom-com.”

Wu laughs. “Yeah, that’s alright with me.”

“You can watch it with us, if you want,” Mako adds before he can change his mind. He feels stupid for doing so, but that feeling goes away immediately when he sees Wu’s smile.

“Yeah, okay, thank you,” he says, turning back to his laptop after a moment.

Korra greets Wu with something like, “Oh, so  _ you’re _ Wu,” that tells Mako that Bolin has already told her about his roommate, and Mako shoots a glare at his brother who is already smiling apologetically. When Asami shows up soon after, she has a similar reaction, and Mako decides that he actually hates his friends very much. 

Wu seems to be thinking the opposite. Mako had no idea how well he would get along with his friends, but Wu knows how to turn on the charm. He’s over the top, exaggerating story details to coax a startled laugh out of Korra, but Mako finds his eyes drawn to him all the same. Mako sees this side of Wu when they’re with others, and this Wu can be fun to be around (when given in small doses), but he’s glad he can see the other side of him, too. The side that practically bounces into the kitchen every morning as if he has already had two cups of coffee, the side that asks Mako about his day and then _listens_ , the side that fills the water filter after using it (unlike Mako's previous roommates...), the side that becomes quiet and more affectionate when he’s tired…

Point is. Mako isn’t sure if he would see that side of him or if they would ever be friends if they weren’t randomly assigned as roommates. He’s grateful for the way things turned out.

Bolin chooses a rom-com, to no one’s surprise. Mako sits on the end of the couch with the armrest to his right and Wu takes the seat between him and Bolin while Asami sits in Korra’s lap on the armchair. 

Mako tries to pay attention, he does, but it’s the first time he’s really stopped to relax all day and as he sits there an uncomfortable pain starts in the tips of his fingers, growing intense at his wrist, and spreading to an ache in his shoulder. He closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing, riding out the waves of pain, the sounds of the movie fading into the background. He could (and should) try and do something to relieve the pain, but for now, he just focuses on getting over the initial sharpness of it. Moving to grab something to help him sounds too painful at the moment. 

His phone vibrates in his lap and he opens his eyes to read who it is from, seeing his brother’s name. He glances over at him, and Bolin is giving him an expectant look, so Mako picks it up with his left hand and reads the message.

_ Where’s your heating pad? _

Mako smiles slightly at the screen, typing back with one hand,  _ Bottom drawer of my nightstand _ , and Bolin gets up as soon as the message is delivered, returning a few moments later. Mako reaches out a hand to take it but Bolin doesn’t give it to him until he has plugged it in. Mako wraps it around his forearm and turns the heat on low. It’s still screaming at him for attention, but as it warms up, he feels the heat relieve some of the worst pain and distract him from the rest. 

He texts his brother,  _ Thank you _ , and Bolin sends him a thumbs up in return. Mako almost forgets that Wu is right there until he leans close to whisper, “Do you want me to grab you anything?”

His breath tickles Mako’s ear, but he represses a shiver. “I’m okay, but thank you.”

Wu nods, his eyes concerned, and Mako isn’t sure if he is imagining it, or if he doesn’t move all the way back to his couch cushion.

* * *

**3**

Mako almost drops the mug when pain shoots through his arm, and then immediately after recovering he almost drops it in surprise when he hears Wu’s door open and sees him walk in the kitchen.

His dark hair is sticking out everywhere instead of styled to perfection, and he blinks against the light in the kitchen. He stifles a yawn and crosses his arms across his chest as he leans against the fridge and watches Mako start to prepare his tea.

“Why are you awake?” Wu asks, voice rough from disuse. “Studying?”

Mako focuses on the tea to avoid looking at rumpled, sleepy Wu. “My...uh, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Is it your arm?” Wu asks with a frown, and Mako nods, eyes fixed on his mug. 

“Yeah, it’s...sometimes when it gets bad at night, I can’t fall asleep, and nothing I’ve tried helps, so. I’ve resigned myself to another sleepless night.”

Wu watches him for a few moments in silence, and it’s the most quiet that he has ever been since Mako has met him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Mako shakes his head once he catches himself hesitating. “I don’t want to complain. You should go to sleep.”

“Make me a cup of tea and I’m all ears.”

Mako pulls out another mug and Wu stops him with a smile and a hand on his arm, his fingers feeling cold against his burning skin. “I was kidding, Mako, let your arm rest. I’ll make my own.”

A few minutes later Wu joins him on the couch and waits. Mako stares at the tea in front of him for a moment before he takes a deep breath starts talking.

He talks about the accident that hurt his arm in the first place. He talks about the daily pain he’s experienced since then. He talks about the doctors who had no idea what to do for him. He talks about not being able to lift heavy things or open jars or go out in the cold for too long because all these things bring pain, pain, pain. He talks about the frustration with himself, of falling short of people’s expectations. 

Wu sits and listens, his eyes never leaving Mako even though Mako can’t look at him, but stares at the steam from his mug disappear until he’s holding a half empty mug of room temperature tea.

When he’s done speaking, he stares at the coffee table and the silence hangs between them.

“Do you like massages?”

Mako blinks at him, confused by the sudden topic change. “What?”

“Massages, do you like those? I can massage your arm, if you want. Maybe it will help?”

Mako stares at him, but before he can respond Wu is moving to sit closer, gently taking Mako’s arm from where he is cradling it against his chest. Mako just watches, speechless, as Wu holds his forearm with both of his hands, slowly feeling around for any tense spots. 

“Your hands are cold,” Mako says eventually. 

“Sorry, is that uncomfortable?” Wu asks, pausing. 

“No!” Mako says quickly. “It actually...feels really nice.”

Wu smiles at him, and he starts to hum as he gently massages Mako’s arm, focusing on his wrist and fingers. He talks about his classes and Mako talks back as gradually, the overwhelming pain calms down and his eyes feel heavy enough that he thinks he might actually fall asleep. 

Wu notices, and his hands still. “You should try sleeping now.”

Mako nods, following him out of the living room, and they both stop in the hallway, hesitating. 

“Thank you, Wu,” Mako says eventually. 

Wu’s smile isn’t as casual or confident as usual. It’s small. It’s...intimate. 

“Anytime,” he replies sincerely, and it makes Mako’s chest tighten. 

* * *

**4**

Things change after that night. Wu doesn’t act like nothing happened, but he doesn’t really bring it up, either. Instead, he just does little things that show Mako that he remembers. When Mako pulls out a jar from his cupboard to make dinner, Wu holds his hand out immediately and opens it for him. When they’re watching something together, Wu will hold his hands out as an invitation until Mako moves his arm and lets Wu give him a massage. 

Mako is surprised, to say the least. He keeps waiting for Wu to get tired of it and drop the nice act. He waits for Wu to forget. But he doesn’t. He thinks back to the first day they met, how Wu would not stop talking and Mako initially thought of him as obnoxious and self-centered. The memory makes him feel guilty, now. He has since learned that Wu is undeniably selfless. Especially when it comes to Mako.

A few weeks after that night, going into their third month as roommates, Mako is playing a documentary for one of his classes on the television as he struggles to take notes, his right hand refusing to cooperate with him. Wu is watching the tv with him as he finishes his dinner at the table. 

“Do you want me to type something for you?” 

He looks up to see Wu watching him, and he feels awkward under his sincere gaze. Mako opens his mouth to deny the help immediately, but something makes him hesitate. He’s never been good at accepting or asking for help, but something about Wu, about the way he’s been helping Mako so much lately, makes him pause. Wu senses his hesitation and leaves his empty plate at the table to take the seat next to Mako, their thighs touching as he grabs the laptop from him.

“Do you need anything specific or are you just typing general notes?” he asks, looking over what Mako has typed so far.

“Uh, just general stuff,” Mako says, feeling awkward still. 

Wu nods. “Let me just grab something real quick.”

He pauses the documentary and leaves, returning a moment later with his glasses on his face and—

“Here you go,” he says, plugging in the heating pad and handing it to Mako. Mako stares at it for a few seconds, and Wu’s smile falls.

“Sorry, was that weird? Your brother just told me where it is in case you ever needed it, I didn’t mean to invade your room or anything—”

“No, it’s okay, I just...you surprised me, is all. Thank you.”

Wu goes back to beaming and he sits back down, their thighs nearly touching again and their arms  _ definitely  _ touching as Wu takes the laptop back and plays the documentary, typing notes immediately. 

They keep up a running commentary the whole time, joking back and forth. It goes by much quicker and Mako feels like he understands it more without the pain irritating him so much, but he feels weirdly disappointed when the credits start to play and Wu hands him back the laptop.

* * *

**5**

“Bolin, I need your help.” 

“Of course! What’s up?”

Mako flips the camera around so Bolin can see the display of flowers he’s standing in front of. 

Mako had spent the week since their documentary night together trying to think of some way to thank Wu, but it wasn’t until he was shopping and saw the flowers that a solid idea struck him. Now he stares helplessly at the many choices. They all look fine to him, but he remembers Korra whacking him in the head with the flowers he gave her back when they were dating, leaving him angry that plants could send some stupid message. Then again, maybe the incident had nothing to do with the flowers. 

He had called his brother before he could talk himself out of it. 

Bolin’s face on the screen looks confused before Mako says, “I need to pick out some flowers for Wu.”

Mako is glad that the camera isn’t pointed toward him at the moment, because he feels himself turning red immediately. His brother looks delighted, eyes widening and mouth dropping open. 

“You’re getting _flowers?_ For _Wu?_ ” 

“Keep your voice down!” Mako hisses. “He did something nice for me, I just wanted to return the favor. Please, Bolin.”

“Okay, okay, get me closer to them, let’s see what we’re working with here.”

Mako steps forward, slowly moving his phone over the flowers to show his brother. 

“Ooh, red roses,” Bolin coos. 

“Bolin,” Mako warns. 

“Alright, it was worth a shot,” Bolin sighs. “Wait, stop. Let me see those.”

Mako stops moving and Bolin admires the flowers from his phone screen. “Yeah, get those.”

“What are they?” Mako asks, already grabbing the flowers. 

“They’re panda lilies. I think Wu will like them.”

There’s something in Bolin’s tone that has Mako narrowing his eyes and the blush on his face returning, but...maybe Mako wouldn’t mind if the flowers had some kind of special meaning after all. 

When he gets home, Wu’s door is closed, and that’s when he remembers his classes are all in the morning. Mako stares at the door for several moments, feeling awkward as he debates how and when to give the bouquet to him, before finally just leaving the lilies in a vase on the table and scribbling a note to leave next to them that says “Thanks for your help. -Mako."

* * *

**+1**

Mako is putting his shoes on to walk to his afternoon class when the front door opens and Wu walks in, his hair slightly tousled from the wind, his dark skin flushed from the cold air.

“Hey, Mako!” Wu beams, shrugging off his bag. 

“Hi,” Mako says, forcing himself to keep his tone neutral as Wu takes off his coat and notices the flowers on the table. 

“What's this?” he asks, glancing over the note. 

Mako rubs the back of his neck, standing from the couch. He doesn’t realize he is walking toward his roommate until they are only a couple feet apart. “I wanted to thank you. For the notes and for...well, lots of things, really.”

Wu has to tilt his chin up just a bit to keep eye contact with Mako, who realizes they have never stood this close before, and he’s suddenly aware of how effortless it would be to reach out and grab his hand, or to brush his fingers through his hair under the pretense of adjusting it.

“Thank you, that’s so sweet. I love panda lilies,” Wu says, and his voice is quiet, quieter than Mako has ever heard him speak.

Mako swallows, allowing himself to glance at Wu’s lips for a fraction of a second before meeting his gaze again. “I’m glad.”

They stand there for a few seconds and Mako tries to think of something else to say while Wu watches him expectantly, but he just clears his throat. “Um, I’m going to go to class now.”

“Right.” Wu blinks, looking dazed when Mako steps away from him.

“Yeah.” Mako nods, grabbing the door handle and stepping outside, shivering at the cold wind that hits him almost immediately. 

He only gets a few steps out the door when Wu cries out, “Mako, wait!”

Mako turns around to see Wu standing in their open doorway, his heart thundering in his chest. “Yes?”

“It’s cold, you should take these,” he says, walking up to him and taking off his gloves. He grabs Mako’s hands and slips them on, and they’re still warm from Wu’s skin. “I don’t want the cold to hurt your arm.” 

Mako stares at him. Wu is standing there, smiling, his hands still holding Mako’s.

Mako takes a deep breath. Then he leans forward and kisses Wu. 

It’s more of a peck than anything and he pulls away as quickly as he had kissed him, eyes wide as if shocked by what he just did, but Wu is beaming at him. Wu grabs him by the front of his shirt and kisses him again before pulling back. 

“Go,” he laughs. “You’re going to be late for class.”

Mako nods, making no move to keep walking. “Right. Okay.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yep. Later.”

He doesn’t realize he still isn’t moving until Wu lets go of his shirt and pushes him gently, finally getting Mako's mind to kick into gear and remember how to walk. Mako smiles at nothing the whole way to class, pulling out his phone at one point to call his brother. 

“How did the flowers go?” Bolin asks immediately, the phone propped on his leg so Mako can only see the top half of his head, a video game controller in his hand, the sound of fighting in the background. 

“Is that Mako?” Korra asks from off-screen. “Call him back, I need you to watch my six.”

“I helped him buy flowers for Wu this morning, this could be an important update!” Bolin tells her, then glances at Mako for just a second. “So?”

“I need your help to buy flowers again,” Mako tells him. “Something that says ‘thank you for putting up with your bisexual older brother and helping him get the courage to finally kiss his roommate’.”

There’s a few seconds of shocked silence following his words, then the video game is forgotten as Bolin and Korra’s cheering faces fill his phone screen. 

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
